Matsya Purana — Brahmā’s Four Faces, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

धर्मः स्तनान्ताद् अभवद् धृदयात् कुसुमायुधः भ्रूमध्याद् अभवत् क्रोधो लोभश् चाधरसंभवः //

Transliteration

dharmaḥ stanāntād abhavad dhṛdayāt kusumāyudhaḥ bhrūmadhyād abhavat krodho lobhaś cādharasaṃbhavaḥ //

Translation

法（Dharma）从胸乳之处生起；花箭之神迦摩（Kāma）从心中生起。两眉之间生嗔怒，而贪欲则从下唇而生。

Word by Word

• धर्मः (dharmaḥ): Dharma, righteousness

• स्तनान्तात् (stanāntāt): from the end/region of the breasts

• अभवत् (abhavat): arose, came into being

• हृदयात् (hṛdayāt): from the heart

• कुसुमायुधः (kusumāyudhaḥ): ‘flower-weaponed’, Kāma (Cupid)

• भ्रूमध्यात् (bhrūmadhyāt): from the middle between the eyebrows

• क्रोधः (krodhaḥ): anger

• लोभः (lobhaḥ): greed

• च (ca): and

• अधरसंभवः (adhara-saṃbhavaḥ): born from the lower lip

Speaker

• Suta (narrator) describing a creation/emanation sequence within the Matsya Purana’s early cosmological account

Entities Mentioned

• Dharma
• Kusumayudha (Kama)
• Krodha
• Lobha

Tags

• Creation
• Cosmology
• Dharma
• Kama
• Ethics
• Personification

FAQs

What does this verse reveal about the creation or dissolution (Pralaya)?

It presents a creation-style emanation: moral and psychological forces (dharma, kāma, krodha, lobha) are symbolically ‘born’ from specific parts of a cosmic/personified body, emphasizing how virtues and vices arise within manifested existence rather than describing Pralaya directly.

How does this verse relate to the duties of a King or Householder?

By mapping dharma to the body’s noble center and placing krodha and lobha as lower impulses, it implies ethical governance and household life must be guided by dharma (and disciplined kāma), while anger and greed should be restrained—core themes in Puranic rājadharma and gṛhastha conduct.

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

No direct Vāstu or temple-rule instruction appears in this verse; its relevance is indirect—ritual and iconographic traditions often use such body-symbolism to teach inner discipline and the ordering of impulses, which complements later Matsya Purana sections on ritual purity and sacred design.